It’s day TWO of summer. It’s raining. Again. But before the rain, there is that warm wind. That smell in the air. It is the promise of rain, an electricity. Not that we need any more rain this month, but those moments before the rain are magical.

This truck makes me happy:

It makes me think of all the places I would rather be. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it’s the color. Maybe the curves. But it’s beautiful. Apparently, difficult to drive, but who would know from the outside?

And this tree, that lives on the file cabinet beside my desk, outgrew it’s shabby little pot about two years ago. I stuffed it into my back seat yesterday, hauled it across the lawn at home, and transplanted it at 7 a.m. before work. I wedged it back in my lil (creaky and rusty) car and here it is. Back in the corner,all lopsided and Charlie Brown-like, trying to kiss the ceiling and reach for the sunlight.

This makes me happy too:

It’s my lunch. . A pyramid of fruit and veg: a nectarine, raspberries, watermelon, and beautifully sauted and creamy butter beans. I love lunch. It breaks up my day despite the fact I never leave my desk. It is full of color, texture, cold and warm, sweet and tart, and smells divine.

Now…why I did not cook dinner, and how I arrived to work with beans:

I had the very best intentions to cook dinner. But someone beat me to it. Not that I’m complaining. Who can possibly complain to coming home to a kitchen that is heavy with the smells of sauce and the starchy scent of pasta still bubbling away? Thin slices of perfectly baked and crunchy eggplant accompanied our spaghetti along with the most delicious, homemade stuffed shells that I had in recent memory.

But I was feeling a bit blue. I was looking forward to making a mess in the kitchen. So…I cooked my lunch for Tuesday. I have recently become enamoured by Jamie Oliver’s cooking show and decided to browse his recipes online. Stumbling across his recipe for The Creamiest White Beans and Leeks, I couldn’t resist. Fortunately, all ingredients were on hand, except for the leeks. Scallions provided an easy substitute, and the thyme from the garden smelled incredible as it simmered with the scallions, garlic, oil and butter. I did have to simmer the beans for a bit longer than prescribed, but it was worth the effort. The wine flavor was quite strong, even after a longer time on the stove, but for me personally, I did not mind. I love beans, especially butter beans, and have no qualms about eating them as a meal onto themselves. I did pack some fruit for breakfast and as light snacks (as seen in the pyramid above). Who can resist a sweet nectarine, ripe watermelon, and red red raspberries?

Happy Tuesday! The sun is peeking through the clouds for the first time in days. I’m hoping my poor yellowing tomato stalks will begin to dry out the tiniest bit. Let’s hope!

Another Monday is behind us, and Spaghetti Monday meal prep took a bit longer than anticipated, not that I expected two new recipes to flow seamlessly. In the end, it was worth it! I started with a Spinach and Garbanzo Bean Soup with tiny pasta pieces. The beautiful part of this recipe was that almost everything was already in my fridge and pantry. I ever so slightly adapted this recipe from Vegalicious Recipes. Instead of a regular onion, I opted for the less potent green onion. Because I had chicken stock frozen, I chose to use what I had on hand rather than buy the vegetable stock. I enhanced the chicken stock with a bit of bullion as well. I love a hearty soup, so I chose a larger volume of garbanzo beans and spinach. It was very good (even in my lunch this afternoon!).

Spinach Garbanzo Bean Soup*

Adapted from Vegalicious.org

Olive Oil, 1 tablespoon

Green Onions, about 1/2 cup sliced

Saffron, just a few threads

Turmeric, about 1/4 teaspoon

Cardamom, about 1/8 teaspoon

Nutmeg, about 1/8 teaspoon

Paprika (sweet), about 1 tablespoon

Salt and Pepper to taste (I used quite a bit of a of ground black pepper.)

(*Unless I’m baking, I am not very accurate when it comes to measurements I just add in whatever tastes good.)

In a large soup pan, pour the oil. Heat over a medium flame. Add the green onions and stir to coat with oil. Adjust the oil temperature so the onions do not burn. Allow to soften. Add all of the spices and the crushed garlic. Stir. Add garbanzo beans, coating the beans in the mixture. Brown for about two minutes. Add in the stock and bullion. Bring to a boil. Add the small pasta. When pasta is soft, add in the spinach and allow to wilt. Turn off heat. If you have time, let the soup sit on the stove so that all the flavors can meld. It’s good either way, so serve when you’re ready.

Our main dish was Pasta Primavera. I found this recipe at Smitten Kitchen and just had to make it solely based upon the eye-catching photo provided. It was just too pretty to pass over. The pasta can be served cool, but by special request, I did warm the finished pasta through. I also used the Champagne vinegar, and I squeezed a bit of the lemon juice over my noodles. I rinsed and chopped Kalamata olives and mixed them throughout the pasta. Even the picky eaters in my family couldn’t resist trying them. I was able to use fresh basil and chives from the garden which always makes me happy. And the rainbow of colors did not fail to impress! Served with a freshly bottled batch of Blushing Bride wine and a crusty loaf of bead, our meal was perfectly lovely!

There’s Monday…and then there’s Spaghetti Monday. I cannot recall precisely when Spaghetti Monday became a tradition of sorts in my household, but it somewhere along the way, it planted strong roots in our Monday meal expectations. And it’s not just about a quick, easy, affordable meal. It is something to look forward to as 8 a.m. drags to 8:15 a.m. and the workday is feeling endless. Spaghetti Monday means that if you are within a 15 mile radius of the family home around dinner time, you are expected to be seated at that kitchen table, no excuses…and we’re not even Italian. Spaghetti Monday is about Dad’s homemade wine, garlic bread (sometimes charred when we happen to be distracted from the broiler for more than 20 seconds), and pasta of some form: ravioli, stuffed shells, seafood and angel hair pasta…it all falls under the acceptable realm of Spaghetti Monday fare. Mostly, Spaghetti Monday is about family. After a weekend that has pulled us in seven different directions and an approaching week that will most likely do the same, Spaghetti Monday is a much appreciated anchor.